A blog about Cyber Security & Compliance

By Simon Rice, Group Manager for Technology at the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

They say ‘no publicity is bad publicity’, but after spending most of the week trending on Twitter, I wonder if the users of the Ashley Madison site might disagree.

Having already prompted a flurry of news stories when the online attack of the Ashley Madison servers was first revealed, this week we’ve seen another wave of coverage as the personal data was published online.

Wherever your sympathies might lie in relation to the people identified in the published data set, the fact remains that such details are personal information, with certain protections in law.

Like many online attacks, the data protection response is international. In this case, we’re liaising with our counterparts in Canada, where the company is based.

But with cases like this, there is still a domestic aspect to consider.

Anyone in the UK who might download, collect or otherwise process the leaked data needs to be aware they could be taking on data protection responsibilities defined in the UK’s Data Protection Act.

Similarly, seeking to identify an individual from a leaked dataset will be an intrusion into their private life and could also lead to a breach of the DPA.

Individuals will have a range of personal reasons for having created an account with particular online services (or even had an account created without their knowledge) and any publication of further personal data without their consent can cause them significant damage or distress.

It’s worth noting too that any individual or organisation seeking to rely on the journalism exemption should be reminded that this is not a blanket exemption to the DPA and be encouraged to read our detailed guide on how the DPA applies to journalism.

This is not the first time an online service has suffered such an attack and unfortunately it’s unlikely to be the last. But it’s important people don’t assume that the law and the protections it affords to UK individuals don’t apply online.

Have your details been published in a dataset?

If you find your personal data being published online then you have a right to go to that publisher and request that the information is removed. This applies equally to information being shared on social media. If the publisher is based in the UK and fails to remove your information you can complain to the ICO.